The Good Life

In the small town (I mean really small town) of Pecan Gap, Texas there are acres and acres of beautiful green grass, lots of cattle and a ranch that is loved by my kids. It is owned by my dad, and it is a beautiful 150 acre, 100 head of cattle, ranchers dream . I was absolutely thrilled when dad bought the ranch, not only because I had always dreamed of living out in the country, but also because it was a dream of my dads and he deserved it. He has always worked so hard so that my brother and I (and now my husband and kids) did not have to grow up like he did. I will never understand how he actually found the land. You have to take this back road and that back road, and go through tiny town after tiny town. But once you get there, it is an incredible sight. So today, Jason and I packed up the kids and headed out to the ranch. I am always excited to go to the ranch, but it is the kids who really love it.

Our first stop was the Pecan Gap Festival. They were hoping for 100 people (1/2 of the town) to show up and I think they had a pretty good turnout. They had a parade (which we missed), a petting zoo, a bounce house and some BBQ.

Isaiah absolutely loved the rabbits.

The kids loved the bounce house. They jumped and jumped and then jumped some more. Isaiah jumped so much that he was drenched in sweat (and it was 55 degrees outside).

After the festival we headed out to the ranch. It is hard to explain how spoiled my dad's cows are, but these pictures may help some. Dad's cows eat carrots, but only if they come straight from your hands. If you happen to drop a carrot (or try to throw them at the cattle like my kids) the cows won't eat them. It really is a sight to see!

My dad with a few of his "girls," which is what he calls his cows.

After a few minutes Isaiah finally stopped tossing the carrots to the cows and decided to try and feed them. Success! He was so proud of himself.

Addison loved feeding the cows.

Kate loved carrying the carrots to Papaw, but wasn't sure about feeding the cows.

A carrot that fell on the ground. I attempted to pick it up and feed it to the cows. They wanted nothing to do with it. SPOILED! I guess if I pooped all over the ground on which I ate, I might not eat them either. The 5 second rule doesn't apply to them.

Kate on the riding lawn mower. She climbed up there all by herself. She is our little cowgirl.

Isaiah on the gator. The kids love the gator but we weren't able to drive it today because of how wet the pasture was. The ranch has received about 13 inches of rain in the last few weeks.

My dad always has ice cream (or some kind of treat) for the kids. Today he had M&M ice cream for them. Kate loved it.Not only does my dad spoil the cows, but he also spoils my kids. Here is Kate on her new riding bull. It sings too!

My favorite picture. A man and his dream (with his grandchildren).


I attempted to crop and adjust the picture some. I'm not very good at it, but it turned out okay. I love how my dad is standing in this picture because this is how he always stood at my soccer games.

Until later,

Melissa